Secretary of State Marco Rubio, along with Israel and Lebanon’s ambassadors, announced a framework agreement Friday that was described as a first step toward peace following months of conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.Limited time: Save 25% on NBC News subscriptionGet exclusive reporting, live Q&As and ad-free reading.The officials did not share details on the agreement that was signed by Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, and Nada Hamadeh, ambassador of Lebanon to the United States.Hamadeh said the framework “is a first step on the road to restoring Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity, securing a permanent and final cessation of hostilities, enabling our people to go back to their land and allowing all Lebanese to live in peace, security, and prosperity.”Leiter said the final destination of the framework is peace between the two countries.“Real peace, where both countries will live in security, where Israel’s and Lebanon’s sovereignty will be respected, honored, and protected,” Leiter said.“In this performance-based trilateral framework agreement, Iran is out.
Hezbollah is out.And the road to peace between Israel and Lebanon is in.”The latest conflict began when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel days after Israel and the U.S.
launched their war on Iran on Feb.28.
Israel invaded Lebanon and has expanded its control.More than 4,000 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes since March.At least 37 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Lebanon or northern Israel during the fighting.Add NBC News to GoogleInside look at battlefield tactics of Israel and Hezbollah amid Iran war negotiations02:46A lull in fire earlier this week between Israeli and Hezbollah forces began to show cracks after Israel said it targeted Hezbollah militants in several strikes across southern Lebanon.Hezbollah was not part of the talks, which resulted in several ceasefire agreements that wer...